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Gender Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

1245 Words5 Pages

According to the United Nations Foundation, 62 million girls around the world are refused education and mentorship programs, such as Step Up helps to maintain girls in school to get them closer to achieve their dreams. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee focuses on the lives of Jem and Scout as Scout retales three years of her childhood in the span of 372 pages. The story is about growing up in Alabama during the 1930s after the Great Depression, where there happens to be large abundance of discrimination in the small fictional town of Maycomb County. Through the eyes of Scout, readers see how her father, Atticus, is very passionate and dedicated to his work of being an attorney and standing up to discrimination. Similarity to how Atticus advocated for …show more content…

As they were walking past Mrs. Dubose’s house, she accused them of making trouble and disapproved of Scout’s wardrobe by bellowing and saying“...‘And you—’ she pointed an arthritic finger at [her]—’what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!’ ” (Lee, 135). As far as the reader is aware of, Scout’s usual wardrobe consists of overalls and she is not a big fan of dresses, another indicator that she despises acting ladylike. Like Mrs. Dubose, Aunt Alexandra disapproves of Scout’s attire and is constantly telling her to change the way she is so she can act more like a girl and less than a boy. This is another situation from the book where someone is treated unequally from the others simply because of her gender and because of the way she decided to act. In attempts to convince Scout to dress more like a girl rather than a boy, she feeds her lies by telling her that dressing up in dresses would allow her “to be a ray of sunshine in [her] father’s lonely life” (Lee, page

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479 Words | 2 Pages

Alexandra would then make her wear and do things that she didn't want to do and this greatly upset Scout. But it wasn't to long before Alexandra realized that everyone is different and Scout didn't want to live like a lady. Alexandra accepted that idea and backed off of Scout. She would even bring her a pair of overalls to mark her forgiveness.

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712 Words | 3 Pages

First example of this is when Scout is at their family 's Christmas celebration when her Aunt Alexandra comments on what Scout is wearing. “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if i wore breeches…”(Lee 108).

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894 Words | 4 Pages

People take their social standing very seriously, and if the stereotypical line is crossed, judgment will be spewed everywhere. Girls are expected to be proper, and be complete southern belles. “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches;” (108) Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to act more lady-like, and also does not want her to be doing anything that is physically demanding. She thinks that ladies have to stay inside, play with their teapots, and dress up in pearls.

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926 Words | 4 Pages

I carefully picked up the tray and watched myself walk to Mrs. Merriweather. With my best company manners, I asked her if she would have some. After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.” This quote explains how Aunt Alexandra is telling Scout to copy what she does in order to look more lady-like and so that she can conform in to the society. Prejudice is another kind of conformity that is shown in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

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1506 Words | 7 Pages

Scout grows quite a bit over the course of the book; her views on herself, others, and the world around her come to change dramatically. As scout is getting into fights at school with almost everyone who does her wrong, Atticus forces her to stop and be more ‘ladylike’. This turns out to be a bit of a struggle, especially when Atticus takes on the Tom Robinson case and people start to call him a n***er lover. Scout’s quote emphasizes this point, “‘You can just take that back, boy!’

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918 Words | 4 Pages

Scout compared it to a penitentiary because of the oppression she had to endure when she was made wear it. This is how Lee portrays the expected behavior of young women in the early 1900s. In contrast, from when she was a young girl, she wanted to be friends with her brother, but to be fully accepted by him, she had to be less like a stereotypical girl. “I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with,” is a thought Scout had after Jeremy had told her that she was overthinking things like a girl and she should not act like one. Harper Lee shows the oppression Scout felt when told to act like a stereotypical lady in the

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712 Words | 3 Pages

Imagine one day you wake up and many of your constitutional rights, such as the right to vote, are gone. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Sexism plays a huge role in many scenarios throughout the story. For example, a quote in the novel states, “ ‘Scout, i’m tellin’ you for the last time to shut your trap or go home- I declare to the lord you’re gettin more like a girl every day.’ With that, I had no option but to join them.”(Lee

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248 Words | 1 Pages

“Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire… She said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants.” (Lee 108). Aunt Alexandra believes that since Scout is a

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779 Words | 4 Pages

Life is overfilled with messages, like weeds in a sea in unmaintained grass. Whether it’s warning a person, or pointing out a flaw; these little lessons are there to further grow the positive parts of that person’s personality. A simple demonstration of this is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. An old, children’s book serving no meaningingful purpose is what it may seem, nevertheless, it actually is a novel that offers a unique outtake on all aspects of human life. In the book, two children Jem and Scout, who learn about equality, racism, and social class through court cases, tea parties and more.

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737 Words | 3 Pages

“I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, [Alexandra] said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants” (Lee 67). Aunt Alexandra expects Scout to fit into the role of a woman, even at such a young age. Another example of the harsh standards placed on Scout is shown when Alexandra is having tea with her friends in chapter 24. Miss Stephanie says, “well, you won’t get very far until you start wearing dresses more often”

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1049 Words | 5 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird there are lots of racial, gender, and religious, discrimination. Which is shown a multiple amount of times throughout the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee which takes place in Maycomb Alabama, where there is a lot of racial discrimination. But there is also some gender, and religious, discrimination.

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1099 Words | 5 Pages

Scout said, “"Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life. I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like a sunbeam, that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year...." (108). This quote illustrates how Scout pushes against gender stereotypes, and this is the root of conflicts between her and Aunt Alexandra.

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1328 Words | 6 Pages

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, undoubtedly there is more than one type of discrimination displayed. Before we get into that, what exactly is discrimination? Well, to discriminate means to treat someone differently based on what they believe, their age, gender, who they love, even their appearance. The forms that I will be talking about are Sexism, (Prejudice actions based on gender) Racism, (Prejudice actions based on race) classism, (Prejudice actions on those of a different social class) and discrimination on those with a disability.

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531 Words | 3 Pages

Scout was more of a tomboy than a girly girl. Aunt Alexandra didn’t like how she didn’t act like a proper lady, and would ask Scout to act more ladylike. As she grew up, she was able to understand things a lot better. She began acting more grown up in situations like Aunt Alexandra’s dinner party.

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1514 Words | 7 Pages

In the story Aunt Alexandra gets angry at Scout for hanging out with people that were not in the same economic group as them. The text states, "She took off her glasses and stared at me. ' I'll tell you why,' she said. ' Because--he--is--trash, that's why you can't play with him. I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord knows what.

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